Game system

ABSTRACT

A game system is provided in which, when data is transmitted to a game apparatus of a receiver side, the influence which the transmitted data has on a game progressing in the game apparatus of the receiver side is diversified and the interest of the game is increased. The game apparatus includes a display in which a field map represents all or part of a game field in a plan view as seen from the above. A placement request icon is displayed on the display. When touching the placement request icon, a sub-character can be placed at a position where a main character is located. When a sub-character icon is selected and content of an event is determined, the sub-character is placed. When a communication connection with a different game apparatus is established, information related to the placed sub-character is transmitted.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in JapanesePatent Application No. 2012-019119, filed on Jan. 31, 2012, thedisclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a game system which includes aplurality of game apparatuses that can connect and communicate with eachother and in which when data is transmitted and received between thegame apparatuses by short-range communication, it is possible todiversify the influence which the received data has on the game.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, short-range communication is performed between aplurality of game apparatuses by using wireless communication units, andinformation that can be used when the game progresses is exchangedbetween them (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2005-28103). For example, information related to a player characteroperated in another game apparatus and information related to an itemheld by the player character are exchanged between the game apparatuses,and the interest of the game is increased by using the short-rangecommunication.

However, when only exchanging data that can be used in the game, aplayer cannot select what influence the data has when the data istransmitted to a receiver, and the influence which the data has on thegame progressing in the game apparatus of the data receiver is uniform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problem.Specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide a gamesystem in which when data is transmitted to the game apparatus of thereceiver side, the influence which the transmitted data has on the gameprogressing in the game apparatus of the receiver side is diversifiedand the interest of the game is increased.

The present invention relates to a game system comprising: a first gameapparatus and a second game apparatus which can connect and communicatewith each other, wherein a game, which progresses in the first gameapparatus and the second game apparatus, progresses by moving a playercharacter assigned to each game apparatus on a game field, the firstgame apparatus includes a first object placer that places an object onan arbitrary position on the game field when the game progresses, and anobject information transmitter that transmits object information relatedto the object placed by the first object placer and the position wherethe object is placed to the second game apparatus, and the second gameapparatus includes an object information receiver that receives theobject information from the first game apparatus, a second object placerthat places an object corresponding to the object placed in the firstgame apparatus at a position on the game field corresponding to aposition where the object is placed in the first game apparatusaccording to the object information received by the object informationreceiver, a player character mover that moves a second player characterassigned to the second game apparatus on the game field according to anoperation to an operation section by a player, and an event generatorthat generates an event at the position where the object is placed bythe second object placer.

While a game progresses in the first game apparatus, when an object isplaced at an arbitrary position on the game field, if data istransmitted and received between the first game apparatus and the secondgame apparatus, information related to the object and the position atwhich the object is placed is transmitted to the second game apparatus.In the second game apparatus, an object is placed according to theinformation received from the first game apparatus, and when a playercharacter reaches a position on the game field at which the object isplaced, an event occurs.

In this way, also in the second game apparatus that receives data, anobject is placed at a position corresponding to the position at whichthe object is placed in the first game apparatus, so that if theposition at which the object is placed in the first game apparatuschanges, a position at which the player character encounters the objectin the second game apparatus also changes, and thus, it is possible todiversify the influence that affects the game progressing in the secondgame apparatus.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the object is a firstplayer character assigned to the first game apparatus or a firstsub-character that acts in cooperation with the first player character.

It is possible to place a player character (hereinafter referred to as“main character”) operated mainly by the player or a sub-character incooperation with the player character at a predetermined position in thefirst game apparatus and transmit information related to the playercharacter or the sub-character to the second game apparatus. In thesecond game apparatus, it is possible to generate an event related tothe player character or the sub-character in the first game apparatus.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the event is a virtualbattle between the first player character or the first sub-character andthe second player character.

Different from simply exchanging data between the first game apparatusand the second game apparatus, in the second game apparatus, when theplayer character or the sub-character placed in the first game apparatusencounters a player character of the second game apparatus, they canfight against each other, so that it is possible to give a feeling as iffighting a communication battle to a player even though it is not areal-time battle. In addition, the player cannot expect where the playercharacter encounters the player character or the sub-character of thefirst game apparatus, so that the interest of the game increases.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the event is a virtualbattle between the second player character and an enemy character, andthe first player character or the first sub-character fights the battlein cooperation with the second player character.

In the second game apparatus, when fighting a virtual battle against anenemy character such as a boss character, it is possible to obtaincooperation of the player character or the sub-character placed in thefirst game apparatus, so that when fighting a virtual battle against theenemy character, unexpected help can be obtained, and thus the interestof the game can be increased.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the first game apparatusincludes a privilege giver that gives a privilege to the first playercharacter or the first sub-character when the object informationtransmitter transmits the object information to the second gameapparatus.

The player character or the sub-character operated in the first gameapparatus is placed, so that a privilege can be given such as providinga virtual currency and an item or improving parameters related to thecharacters such as experience points or the like to the characters.Therefore, the player is motivated to dispatch his or her characters toother game apparatuses. When the object information is transmitted tothe second game apparatus, the player character or the sub-characterplaced in the first game apparatus does not fight a virtual battle.However, by giving privilege in this way, it is possible to give afeeling as if a virtual battle was fought to the player.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the first object placerincludes an event decider that decides content of the event generated inthe second game apparatus, the object information transmitter transmitsevent information related to the content of the event decided by theevent decider along with the object information, the object informationreceiver receives the event information along with the objectinformation, and the event generator generates an event corresponding tothe event information.

When placing an object, the player who operates the first game apparatuscan determine the content of the event generated in the second gameapparatus, so that it is possible to diversify the influence which thetransmitted data has on the game progressing in the second gameapparatus.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the first game apparatusand the second game apparatus establish communication when the firstgame apparatus and the second game apparatus are located in a range inwhich the first game apparatus and the second game apparatus can connectand communicate with each other, and the first game apparatus and thesecond game apparatus automatically transmit and receive the objectinformation to and from each other.

The information related to the placed object is automatically exchangedwith other game apparatuses by short-range communication, so that it ispossible to exchange object information with an unspecified number ofgame apparatuses, and thus, it is possible to diversify the influencewhich the received information has on the game.

The present invention relates to a game apparatus which can connect andcommunicate with a different game apparatus and which proceeds with agame by moving a player character on a game field, the game apparatuscomprising: an object information receiver that receives objectinformation related to an object placed at an arbitrary position on thegame field and the position at which the object is placed from thedifferent game apparatus when a game of the different game apparatusprogresses; an object placer that places an object corresponding to theobject placed in the different game apparatus at a position on the gamefield corresponding to a position where the object is placed in thedifferent game apparatus according to the object information received bythe object information receiver; a player character mover that moves aplayer character on the game field according to an operation to anoperation section by a player; and an event generator that generates anevent at the position where the object is placed by the object placer.

The present invention relates to a game program that causes a computerapparatus to execute a game that progresses by moving a player characteron a game field, the game program causing the computer apparatus tofunction as: an object information receiver that receives objectinformation related to an object placed at an arbitrary position on agame field and the position at which the object is placed from adifferent computer apparatus when a game of the different computerapparatus progresses; an object placer that places an objectcorresponding to the object placed in the different computer apparatusat a position on the game field corresponding to a position where theobject is placed in the different computer apparatus according to theobject information received by the object information receiver; a playercharacter mover that moves a player character on the game fieldaccording to an operation to an operation section by a player; and anevent generator that generates an event at the position where the objectis placed by the object placer.

The present invention relates to a game progress method that proceedswith a game by moving a player character on a game field in a computerapparatus, the game progress method causing the computer apparatus toexecute: a step of receiving object information related to an objectplaced at an arbitrary position on a game field and the position atwhich the object is placed from a different computer apparatus when agame of the different computer apparatus progresses; a step of placingan object corresponding to the object placed in the different computerapparatus at a position on the game field corresponding to a positionwhere the object is placed in the different computer apparatus accordingto the received object information; a step of moving a player characteron the game field according to an operation to an operation section by aplayer; and a step of generating an event at the position where theobject is placed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external view of a game apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the game apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the game system according tothe embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a transmitter sidesub-character placement management table;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a receiver side sub-characterplacement management table;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a placement process of asub-character;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a data exchange process;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between amission and a privilege that the sub-character can acquire;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a game image displayed on afirst display of the game apparatus according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a game image displayed on asecond display of the game apparatus according to the embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a relationship between the degree ofdifficulty, evaluation score, and winning evaluation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view showing aconfiguration of a game apparatus applied to the embodiment. In aportable type game apparatus 1, a first display 11 is housed in an upperhousing 17 a and a second display 12 is housed in a lower housing 17 b.A hinge section 17 c is provided on the lower hem of the upper housing17 a and connected to the upper hem of the lower housing 17 b, so thatthe upper housing 17 a and the lower housing 17 b can be opened andclosed freely. Sound holes of a speaker 15 are formed at the right ofthe first display 11 of the upper housing 17 a.

On the first display 11, for example, a two-dimensional game imageobtained by perspectively transforming a situation in athree-dimensional virtual space by using a virtual screen is displayed.Although not shown in FIG. 1, a touch panel is provided on the uppersurface of the second display 12. The touch panel is a device to detecta coordinate position on the touch panel by pressing the touch panel bya stick or a finger or by moving a stick on the touch panel. On thesecond display 12, for example, a field map obtained by reducing all orpart of the virtual space and displaying the reduced virtual space on aplane surface is displayed.

An operation section 14 includes a circle button 14 a, a triangle button14 b, a square button 14 c, and a cross button 14 d, which are operationbuttons, a cross key 14 e which is a direction indicating switch, astart button 14 h, a select button 14 j, and an L button 14 g and an Rbutton 14 f which are side switches. The circle button 14 a, thetriangle button 14 b, the square button 14 c, and the cross button 14 dare arranged at the right of the second display 12 in the lower housing17 b. The cross key 14 e is arranged at the left of the second display12 in the lower housing 17 b. The L button 14 g and the R button 14 fare arranged on the left end and the right end of the upper hem of thelower housing 17 b and used to input a predetermined instruction asneeded.

On the side surface of the upper hem of the lower housing 17 b, acartridge insertion section is provided, into which a cartridge 16,which is a storage medium storing a game program, can be inserted. Aconnector 28 for connecting to the cartridge 16 is included inside thecartridge insertion section.

Next, a circuit configuration of the game apparatus 1 will be described.FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the game apparatus1. A CPU core 21 is mounted on an electronic circuit board which ishoused in the housing 17. The CPU core 21 is connected to a working RAM(WRAM) 22, a first graphic processing unit (first GPU) 24, a secondgraphic processing unit (second GPU) 26, an input/output interface (I/F)circuit 27, and the connector 28. The CPU core 21 can be connected tothe cartridge 16 through the connector 28. The CPU core 21 includes aROM storing a system program and an internal timer. The I/F circuit 27is a circuit which transmits and receives data between the CPU core 21and external input/output devices such as a touch panel 13, theoperation section 14, and the speaker 15.

The cartridge 16 is a storage medium storing a game program and includesa ROM 16 a that stores the game program and a RAM 16 b in which backupdata can be rewritten. The game program stored in the ROM 16 a of thecartridge 16 is loaded into the WRAM 22 and the loaded game program isexecuted by the CPU core 21. Temporary data obtained when the CPU core21 executes the game program and data for generating an image are storedin the WRAM 22.

The first GPU 24 (hereinafter a video RAM of the first GPU 24 isreferred to as “first VRAM”) and the second GPU 26 (hereinafter a videoRAM of the second GPU 26 is referred to as “second VRAM”) generate agame image on the basis of the data stored in the WRAM 22 for each frameunit (for example, for each 1/30 second) and draw the game image in afirst VRAM 23 and the second VRAM 25. The first GPU 24 and the secondGPU 26 display the game images drawn in the first VRAM 23 and the secondVRAM 25 respectively on the first display 11 and the second display 12on the basis of an instruction from the CPU core 21.

A wireless communication device 29 is connected to a communicationnetwork through a wireless communication port and can communicate with adifferent game apparatus and a server apparatus through the Internet.Also, the wireless communication device 29 can communicate with adifferent game apparatus and a server apparatus by radio through acommunication unit including an antenna.

Next, the game system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3is a diagram showing an outline of the game system according to theembodiment of the present invention. In the progress of the game, aplayer of each game apparatus 1 mainly operates a main character whichis a target of the operation and moves the main character on a gamefield in the virtual space to proceed with the game. The main charactermoves on the game field, taking an animal type or a monster typesub-character with him or her. When the main character encounters anenemy character, the main character can cause the sub-character, whichthe main character is taking with him or her, to take part in a battle,so that the main character and the sub-character can battle against theenemy character in cooperation with each other.

In a game apparatus 1 a, it is possible to place the sub-character at anarbitrary position on the game field and dispatch the sub-character to adifferent game apparatus 1. When an operation to dispatch thesub-character is performed by an operation of a player to the operationsection 14, the sub-character is placed at a position where the maincharacter is located. Therefore, the player may move the main characterto a position where the player wants to place the sub-character and thenplace the sub-character.

When distances between a main body of the game apparatus 1 a and mainbodies of other game apparatuses 1 b to 1 z are in a range in whichshort-range communication can be performed, data are automaticallyexchanged by radio. When the sub-character is placed in the gameapparatus 1 a as an object to be dispatched, information related to thesub-character (for example, name, offensive power, defensive power, andphysical strength value of the sub-character) and the position at whichthe sub-character is placed are transmitted to the game apparatus 1 b to1 z which communicate with the game apparatus 1 a.

Next, the transmitter side sub-character placement management table 40will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of thetransmitter side sub-character placement management table. Thetransmitter side sub-character placement management table 40 managesinformation related to a sub-character placed in one game apparatus 1and is set in the WRAM 22. When the player places the sub-character atan arbitrary position on the game field, the information related to thesub-character is registered in the transmitter side sub-characterplacement management table 40. In the transmitter side sub-characterplacement management table 40, a name 41, a type 42, a level 43,offensive power 44, defensive power 45, a physical strength value 46, aplaced position 47, and an event 48 are stored in association with eachother for each placed sub-character.

The name 41 is the name of the sub-character. The type 42 identifies thetype/tribe of the sub-character. The level 43 is a level of strength ofthe sub-character. The offensive power 44, the defensive power 45, andthe physical strength value 46 are status information of thesub-character. The placed position 47 specifies an area and positionalcoordinates where the sub-character is placed in the one game apparatus1. The event 48 is either “fight” or “cooperation” (described later).When the event 48 is “fight,” the event 48 stores a type of set“mission” (described later).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the receiver sidesub-character placement management table. A receiver side sub-characterplacement management table 50 manages information related to asub-character, which is placed in a different game apparatus 1 and whichis received from the different game apparatus 1 by communication, and isset in the WRAM 22. In the receiver side sub-character placementmanagement table 50, a name 51, a type 52, a level 53, offensive power54, defensive power 55, a physical strength value 56, a placed position57, and an event 58 are stored in association with each other for eachplaced sub-character. The name 51 to the event 58 correspond to the name41 to the event 48, respectively, in the transmitter side sub-characterplacement management table 40.

For example, a communication connection between the game apparatus 1 aand the game apparatus 1 b is established, information related to thesub-character in the transmitter side sub-character placement managementtable 40 set in the game apparatus 1 a is transmitted to the gameapparatus 1 b. Then, the information related to the sub-characterreceived by the game apparatus 1 b is stored in the receiver sidesub-character placement management table 50 set in the game apparatus 1b.

When the information related to the sub-character is registered in thereceiver side sub-character placement management table 50, thesub-character is placed at the “placed position 57” in the receiver sidesub-character placement management table 50. A field map is displayed onthe second display 12 and a balloon indicating that the sub-character isplaced is displayed at a position corresponding to the position at whichthe sub-character is placed on the field map by referring to thereceiver side sub-character placement management table 50. When theplayer touches the balloon displayed on the second display 12, an eventsuch as a fight against the sub-character occurs.

Next, a placement process of the sub-character will be described. FIG. 6is a diagram showing a flowchart of placement process of thesub-character. First, the main character moves according to an operationof the player to the cross key 14 e (step S1). Further, when a touchoperation of the player to an icon (shown in FIG. 10) for a placementrequest of the sub-character on the touch panel of the display 12 isreceived (step S2), a selection of the sub-character to be dispatchedcan be performed. Next, when an icon (shown in FIG. 10) indicating asub-character that is subordinate to the main character is touched, theselection of the sub-character is accepted (step S3). The number ofsub-characters that can be placed at the same position is not limited toone, but a plurality of sub-characters may be placed.

Next, content of the event is determined according to an operation ofthe player to the operation section 14 (step S4). The determination ofthe content of the event is not only the selection of “fight” or“cooperation,” but also when the “fight” is selected, a mission for theplayer of the receiver side to perform in addition to winning thevirtual battle can be assigned. For example, the player can select amission such as “guard successfully three times,” “prohibit three ormore damages” and “prohibit use of command other than attack command” asthe content of the mission.

When the content of the event is determined in step S4, the informationrelated to the sub-character received in step S3, the informationrelated to the event determined in step S4, and the position informationrelated to an area and positional coordinates where the main characteris located at that time are stored in the transmitter side sub-characterplacement management table 40 (step S5) and the placement process of thesub-character is completed.

As described above, in step S4, when the player places the sub-characteron the game field as an object to be dispatched, the player can selectthe content of the event in the game apparatus that receives the placedsub-character from a menu screen. For example, the player can select“fight” or “cooperation.” When the “fight” is selected, the dispatchedsub-character fights against the main character and the sub-character inthe receiver side game apparatus. If the “cooperation” is selected, whena very strong enemy character such as a boss character and the maincharacter in the game apparatus 1 b battle against each other, acooperation of the sub-character received from the game apparatus 1 acan be obtained according to an operation of the player of the gameapparatus 1 b.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a data exchange processbetween the game apparatuses. Here, a case will be described in whichthe information related to the sub-character of the game apparatus 1 ais transmitted to the game apparatus 1 b. First, when the game apparatus1 a and the game apparatus 1 b are located within a range of theshort-range communication, a communication connection is established onthe basis of a condition that terminal type information that identifiesthe type of the game apparatus 1 and software type information thatidentifies the types of the game programs executed in the gameapparatuses 1 a and 1 b are matched (step S11).

When the communication connection is established, the information storedin the transmitter side sub-character placement management table 40 inthe game apparatus 1 a and the status information such as the level andthe offensive power of the main character and/or the sub-character ofthe game apparatus 1 a are transmitted to the game apparatus 1 b (stepS12). Next, the information stored in the transmitter side sub-characterplacement management table 40 in the game apparatus 1 b and the statusinformation such as the level and the offensive power of the maincharacter and/or the sub-character of the game apparatus 1 b arereceived by the game apparatus 1 a (step S13) and the receiver sidesub-character placement management table 50 in the game apparatus 1 a isupdated on the basis of the received information of the sub-character(step S14).

If a predetermined time has not elapsed since the communicationconnection of the game apparatuses 1 a and 1 b was established, even ifthe game apparatuses 1 a and 1 b are located within a range in which thecommunication connection is possible, the game apparatuses 1 a and 1 bdo not exchange the information related to the sub-character anddisconnect the communication connection. In this case, load of thecommunication process can be reduced.

Next, when the game apparatus 1 a transmits the information related tothe sub-character to the game apparatus 1 b, a privilege given to thesub-character of the game apparatus 1 a is calculated (step S15). Theprivilege is calculated according to the status such as the level andthe offensive power of the sub-character of the game apparatus 1 a, thestatus such as the level and the offensive power of the main characteror the sub-character of the game apparatus 1 b, and the content of themission selected when the sub-character is placed in the game apparatus1 a.

For example, the higher value of the offensive power and a magic powerof the sub-character of the game apparatus 1 a and the higher value ofthe offensive power and a magic power of the main character of the gameapparatus 1 b are summed up and the summed value is multiplied by acoefficient that randomly varies in a predetermined range, so that anevaluation score is calculated. Further, the degree of difficulty isdetermined for each mission in advance and the degree of difficulty ofthe mission selected when the sub-character is placed in the gameapparatus 1 a is specified. Then, “winning evaluation” is obtained fromthe specified degree of difficulty and the calculated evaluation score.The winning evaluation is classified into five level evaluations from“1” to “5” as shown in FIG. 11 on the basis of the relationship betweenthe degree of difficulty and the evaluation score. For example, when theevaluation score is greater than or equal to 10 and smaller than 15 andthe degree of difficulty is A, the winning evaluation is 2 and when theevaluation score is greater than or equal to 55 and smaller than 70 andthe degree of difficulty is C, the winning evaluation is 3. Here, “thedegree of difficulty A” is the highest difficulty and the “the degree ofdifficulty C” is the lowest difficulty.

Experience points and an item which the placed sub-character can acquireare determined on the basis of the winning evaluation obtained based onthe relationship as shown in FIG. 11. For example, the experience pointswhich the sub-character can acquire can be calculated by multiplying thelevel of the sub-character by an experience point coefficient andfurther multiplying the above result by a coefficient randomly varies ina predetermined range. The higher the winning evaluation, and the higherthe degree of difficulty of the mission, the larger the experience pointcoefficient can be. Regarding the item that can be acquired, it ispossible to set so that the higher the winning evaluation and the higherthe degree of difficulty of the mission, the larger the effects the itemexerts in the game and the more valuable the item can be.

Also, a configuration may be adopted in which the privilege given to thesub-character changes according to the content of the mission selectedwhen the sub-character is placed in the game apparatus 1 a. FIG. 8 is adiagram showing an example of a relationship between the content of theselected mission and the privilege that the sub-character can acquire bytransmitting the sub-character information.

For example, the player can select a mission such as “guard successfullythree times,” “prohibit three or more damages” and “prohibit use ofcommand other than attack command” as the content of the mission.However, the privilege that the sub-character can acquire (for example,the type of status that improves) changes according to the selectedmission. When the mission is “guard successfully three times,” theoffensive power of the sub-character increases, and when the mission is“prohibit three or more damages,” the magic power of the sub-characterincreases.

In this way, the privilege that the sub-character can acquire changesaccording to the content of the mission, so that the player who plays inthe game apparatus 1 can select a mission according to the privilegewhich the player wants to give to the sub-character, and thus it isrequired that the player more strategically places the sub-character.

Regarding the calculation of the privilege in step S15, a configurationmay be adopted in which the higher the level of the sub-character of thegame apparatus 1 a is than the level of the main character of the gameapparatus 1 b, the smaller the experience points and the virtualcurrency that the sub-character can acquire are, and also the smaller avalue by which a parameter improves is, and on the other hand, the lowerthe level of the sub-character of the game apparatus 1 a is than thelevel of the main character of the game apparatus 1 b, the larger theexperience points and the virtual currency that the sub-character canacquire are, and also the larger a value by which a parameter improvesis.

When the privilege is calculated in step S15, the privilege is given tothe sub-character (step S16), and the experience points, a held item,and a parameter of the sub-character which are stored in the WRAM 22 ofthe game apparatus 1 a are updated. Then, a communication result such asa player name or a player character name (or names) to whom theinformation is transmitted, the number of players to whom theinformation is transmitted, and the experience points and the item thatthe sub-character acquires is displayed on the first display 11 of thegame apparatus 1 a (step S17) and a series of processes are completed.

Although not shown in FIG. 7, a fight result estimated in a case inwhich the transmitted sub-character fights against the player characterof the game apparatus 1 b may be simulated and the simulation result maybe displayed on the first display 11 of the game apparatus 1 a. In thiscase, for example, as a result of a battle against the main character ofthe game apparatus 1 b, a message such as “Sub-character is defeatedalthough damaging the main character A of level 10 by XX points” or“Sub-character wins although being damaged by the main character A oflevel 10 by XX points.”

The estimate of the battle result is calculated by performing a fightsimulation to obtain a result as if the real battle were performed, onthe basis of the status information such as the level and the offensivepower of the sub-character transmitted from the game apparatus 1 a andthe status information such as the level and the offensive power of themain character of the game apparatus 1 b received in step S13.

If the sub-character wins as a result of the simulation of the fightbetween the sub-character of the game apparatus 1 a and the maincharacter of the game apparatus 1 b, it is possible to form aconfiguration in which the experience points and the virtual currencythat can be acquired by the sub-character are larger than those when thesub-character is defeated and a value by which the parameter such as theoffensive power of the sub-character improves is also large.

Although even when the information related to the sub-character placedin the game apparatus 1 a is transmitted to the game apparatus 1 b, inthe game apparatus 1 b, the main character does not encounter thesub-character of the game apparatus 1 a soon and fight against thesub-character, the data exchange is performed with the different gameapparatus 1 b, so that the privilege is given to the sub-character insteps S16 and S17 even when the real fight is not performed and theresult thereof is displayed, and thus it is possible to give a feelingas if a communication fight were really performed to the player of thegame apparatus 1 a. For the player of the game apparatus 1 a, there isan advantage that the sub-character can be automatically grown, withoutfeeling bothersome, even when the player does not carry out an operationto perform a real fight by communication.

A configuration may be adopted in which the sub-character placed in thegame apparatus 1 a cannot participate in a virtual battle against anenemy character while the game progresses in the game apparatus 1 aunless the sub-character is released from an object to be dispatched toa different game apparatus 1, that is, as long as the sub-character isregistered in the transmitter side sub-character placement managementtable 40. By adopting such a configuration, the player needs to selectwhether a plurality of sub-characters fight against the enemy characteron the game field with the main character or automatically grow as anobject to be dispatched to a different game apparatus 1. As a result,the player needs to strategically grow the sub-characters and proceedwith the game, so that the interest of the game increases.

Regarding the sub-character placed on the game field as an object to bedispatched to a different game apparatus 1, the sub-character may beautomatically released from the object to be dispatched when theinformation related to the sub-character is transmitted to the differentgame apparatus 1 or the information related to the sub-character can becontinuously transmitted to a plurality of game apparatuses 1 unless theplayer releases the sub-character from the object to be dispatched.

Although the data exchange process between the game apparatuses isdescribed above with reference to FIG. 7, in an area such as an urbanarea and a downtown area in which the population is large, when the gameapparatus is carried around while the game program is being executed,the game apparatus performs the short-range communication with othergame apparatuses 1 even in a short period of time and the data exchangeis performed. However, in an area in which the population is relativelysmall, the frequency, by which the game apparatus performs theshort-range communication with other game apparatuses 1 and the dataexchange is performed, is low, so that the interest of the gamedecreases.

To prevent such a problem, if the data exchange is not performed evenwhen a predetermined time has elapsed since the sub-character was placedin the game apparatus 1 a, a configuration may be adopted in which thevirtual battle result is automatically displayed and the privilege isgiven to the sub-character. In this case, the level and the status ofthe main character to be a virtual opponent are randomly determined andthe simulation of the fight result is performed according to thedetermined level and the status to calculate the privilege.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a game image displayed on thefirst display of the game apparatus. On the first display 11, atwo-dimensional game image obtained by perspectively transforming asituation in a three-dimensional virtual space on a virtual screen isdisplayed. In the game image, a main character 30, a sub-character 31that acts according to the main character 31, and an enemy character 32that opposes the main character 30 and the sub-character 31 aredisplayed. Also, the physical strength values of the main character 30and the sub-character 31 are displayed. When the physical strength valuebecomes “0,” the main character 30 is in a state of knocked out.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a game image displayed on thesecond display of the game apparatus. On the second display 12, a fieldmap 60, which represents all or part of the game field in a plan view asseen from the above, is displayed. The player can know where the maincharacter 30 is located and how to move the main character 30 to adesired position by referring to the field map 60.

A placement request icon 61 is displayed on the second display 12. Whentouching the placement request icon 61, the sub-character can be placedat a position where the main character 30 is located. The sub-characterto be placed is selected from sub-character icons 63 by a touchoperation. When the sub-character icon 63 is selected and the content ofthe event is determined, the sub-character is placed. When acommunication connection is established with a different game apparatus1, the status information of the placed sub-character and theinformation related to the position where the sub-character is placedare transmitted and the sub-character is placed at the same position inthe different game apparatus 1. The field map 60 can be enlarged andreduced by touching a map zoom icon 62.

On the second display 12, a balloon 64 is displayed on the field map 60.The balloon 64 corresponds to information related to a sub-characterreceived from the different game apparatus 1 and when the balloon 64 istouched, a battle against the sub-character received from the differentgame apparatus is started.

The category of the game to which the present invention is applied isnot particularly limited if the game progresses while the playercharacter is moving on the game field. For example, the presentinvention can be applied to an RPG, a shooting game, and an action game.

What is claimed is:
 1. A game system, comprising: a first game apparatusand a second game apparatus which are configured to communicate witheach other, wherein a game, which progresses in the first game apparatusand the second game apparatus, progresses by moving a player characterassigned to each game apparatus on a game field, the first gameapparatus includes: a first object placer that places a first object onan arbitrary position on the game field when the game progresses; and anobject information transmitter that transmits object information relatedto the first object placed by the first object placer and the arbitraryposition where the first object is placed to the second game apparatus,and the second game apparatus includes: an object information receiverthat receives the object information from the first game apparatus; asecond object placer that places a second object corresponding to thefirst object placed in the first game apparatus at a position on thegame field corresponding to the arbitrary position where the firstobject is placed in the first game apparatus according to the objectinformation received by the object information receiver; a playercharacter mover that moves a second player character assigned to thesecond game apparatus on the game field according to an operationsection by a player; and an event generator that generates an event atthe position where the second object is placed by the second objectplacer.
 2. The game system according to claim 1, wherein the firstobject is one of a first player character assigned to the first gameapparatus and a first sub-character that acts in cooperation with thefirst player character.
 3. The game system according to claim 2, whereinthe event is a virtual battle between the one of the first playercharacter and the first sub-character and the second player character.4. The game system according to claim 2, wherein the event is a virtualbattle between the second player character and an enemy character, andthe one of the first player character and the first sub-character fightsthe battle in cooperation with the second player character.
 5. The gamesystem according to claim 2, wherein the first game apparatus furtherincludes: a privilege giver that gives a privilege to the one of thefirst player character and the first sub-character when the objectinformation transmitter transmits the object information to the secondgame apparatus.
 6. The game system according to claim 1, wherein thefirst object placer includes an event decider that decides content ofthe event generated in the second game apparatus, the object informationtransmitter transmits event information related to the content of theevent decided by the event decider along with the object information,the object information receiver receives the event information alongwith the object information, and the event generator generates the eventcorresponding to the event information.
 7. The game system according toclaim 1, wherein the first game apparatus and the second game apparatusestablish communication when the first game apparatus and the secondgame apparatus are located in a range in which the first game apparatusand the second game apparatus are configured to communicate with eachother, and the first game apparatus and the second game apparatusautomatically transmit and receive the object information to and fromeach other.
 8. A game apparatus which is configured to communicate witha different game apparatus and which proceeds with a game by moving aplayer character on a game field, the game apparatus comprising: anobject information receiver that receives object information related toa first object placed at an arbitrary position on the game field and thearbitrary position at which the first object is placed from thedifferent game apparatus when the different game apparatus progressesthe game; an object placer that places a second object corresponding tothe first object placed in the different game apparatus at a position onthe game field corresponding to the arbitrary position where the firstobject is placed in the different game apparatus according to the objectinformation received by the object information receiver; a playercharacter mover that moves a player character on the game fieldaccording to an operation section by a player; and an event generatorthat generates an event at the position where the second object isplaced by the object placer.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium including a game program that causes a computerapparatus to execute a game that progresses by moving a player characteron a game field, the game program causing the computer apparatus tofunction as: an object information receiver that receives objectinformation related to a first object placed at an arbitrary position onthe game field and the arbitrary position at which the first object isplaced from a different computer apparatus when the different computerapparatus progresses the game; an object placer that places a secondobject corresponding to the first object placed in the differentcomputer apparatus at a position on the game field corresponding to thearbitrary position where the first object is placed in the differentcomputer apparatus according to the object information received by theobject information receiver; a player character mover that moves aplayer character on the game field according to an operation section bya player; and an event generator that generates an event at the positionwhere the second object is placed by the object placer.
 10. A gameprogress method that proceeds with a game by moving a player characteron a game field in a computer apparatus, the game progress methodcausing the computer apparatus to execute: receiving object informationrelated to a first object placed at an arbitrary position on the gamefield and the arbitrary position at which the first object is placedfrom a different computer apparatus when the different computerapparatus progresses the game; placing a second object corresponding tothe first object placed in the different computer apparatus at aposition on the game field corresponding to the arbitrary position wherethe first object is placed in the different computer apparatus accordingto the received object information; moving a player character on thegame field according to an operation to an operation section by aplayer; and generating an event at the position where the second objectis placed.
 11. A game system, comprising: a first game apparatus and asecond game apparatus which are configured to communicate with eachother, wherein a game, which progresses in the first game apparatus,progresses by moving a player character on a game field, the first gameapparatus includes: a position indicator that indicates a position, onthe game field in the second game apparatus, corresponding to a firstposition where a first object is placed on the game field when the gameprogresses; a position information transmitter that transmitsinformation related to the position indicated by the position indicator;and a privilege giver that gives a privilege to one of a player whooperates the first game apparatus and a player character correspondingto the player when the information related to the position indicated bythe position indicator is transmitted by the position informationtransmitter.
 12. The game system according to claim 11, wherein thesecond game apparatus includes: an information receiver that receivesthe information related to the position; an object placer that places asecond object on the position on the game field corresponding to thefirst position indicated by the first game apparatus in accordance withthe information received by the information receiver, and an eventgenerator that generates an event based on the position where the secondobject is placed by the object placer.
 13. The game system according toclaim 12, wherein the event is one of: a first virtual battle betweenthe player character and a second player character corresponding to thesecond game apparatus; and a second virtual battle between the secondplayer character and an enemy character, the player character fightingthe battle in cooperation with the second player character.
 14. The gamesystem according to claim 12, wherein the first game apparatus includesan event decider that decides content of the event generated in thesecond game apparatus, the position information transmitter transmitsevent information related to the content of the event decided by theevent decider with the position information, the information receiverreceives the event information with the position information, and theevent generator generates the event corresponding to the eventinformation.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording mediumhaving recorded thereon a game program that causes a computer apparatusto execute a game which progresses by moving a player character on agame field, the game program causing the computer apparatus to functionas: a position indicator that indicates a position where an object isplaced on the game field of the game corresponding to one player byindicating a corresponding position on the game field based on anindication by an other payer when the game progresses, a positioninformation transmitter that transmits information related to theposition indicated by the position indicator, and a privilege giver thatgives a privilege to one of the other player and a player charactercorresponding to the other player when the information related to theposition indicated by the position indicator is transmitted to an othercomputer apparatus corresponding to the one player.
 16. The game systemaccording to claim 1, wherein first object placer places the firstobject on the arbitrary position on the game field when a main characteroperated by a player of the first game apparatus is located at thearbitrary position on the game filed and an operation to dispatch thefirst object is performed by the player.
 17. The game system accordingto claim 16, wherein the player selects, after dispatching the firstobject to the arbitrary position on the game field, whether a mission ofthe first object is to one of fight and cooperate with the second playercharacter during the event.
 18. The game system according to claim 16,wherein the first object receives a privilege for being dispatched tothe arbitrary position on the game field, the privilege being inverselyproportional to a difference in level between the first object and thesecond player character.
 19. The game system according to claim 16,wherein the first object receives a privilege for being dispatched tothe arbitrary position on the game field, the privilege being given tothe first object even when a real fight is not performed between thefirst object and the second player character.
 20. The game systemaccording to claim 19, wherein the first game apparatus performs asimulation of the real fight between the first object and the secondplayer character, the privilege being based on a result of thesimulation.